Perfect Sezer steers Titans to victory

The Gold Coast Titans have clawed their way off the bottom of the ladder in a penalty-marred win against the Parramatta Eels at Cbus Super Stadium in Monday Night Football.

Three penalties were blown the Titans way in the first two minutes of the game. This set a trend for the night which saw 15 penalties blown in total. That's an average of one almost every 5 minutes. Despite the stop-start nature of the game, the teams were their own worst enemies in the first half with lots of dropped ball and dodgy passes.

The Eels had the first real chance of the game as late replacement, Bureta Faraimo attempted to dive at the line, only to lose it on the way. David Gower was almost there the following minute, but again lost it before grounding. It was the Titans, however, were to score first after an uncharacteristic mistake from Semi Radradra saw Greg Bird regather and kick through for a Kane Elgey try.

The Eels were making metres, however as Reece Robinson made a 60 metre break and Tim Mannah was powering up the field. Following an offside penalty against the Titans, Junior Paulo barged his way over the line to score the Eels first of the night. Reece would set a poor precedent by missing the relatively easy conversion to leave the score at 6-4 after thirteen minutes.

The Eels were making metres seemingly at ease, but a Vai Toutai error stopped the momentum and all of a sudden there were mistakes and penalties all over the park. Tim Mannah was lucky not to be called out for lifting in the tackle, but his lowering back down of the player may have saved him any charge.

As the penalty-fest continued (there were nine penalties in the first half alone), the Eels were the ones to benefit as back to back penalties helped them up the field. It was Nathan Peats, with the simplest of tries, as he dived over from dummy half to give the Eels the lead 10-6 after half an hour of the game. The score would remain at the half-time break.

The Eels looked the better team in the first half, but just four minutes into the second stanza, the Titans would snatch back the lead through a well-executed play from Aidan Sezer and Nene Macdonald. The nicely weighted kick from Sezer was met by a storming Macdonald who simply had to grab the ball and dive over. The resulting conversion gave the Titans a 12-10 lead which they would not relinquish.

The kicking games of both halves were the difference in a messy game from two of the lower teams in the competition. A dubious refereeing decision in the 52nd minute gave Nene Macdonald his second of the night and the Eels' heads dropped.

The Eels did have their chances, however, but poor discipline and dropped ball would be costly in the next 15 minutes of the game. Finally, however, following a mistake from the Titans, Faraimo would score a try in a promising game. Stepping and weaving from 12 metres out, the youngster managed to dive over the line to give the Eels a sniff with just 10 minutes to go. A poor conversion attempt from Reece Robinson left the score at 18-14.

Again, it was an error from the Eels that would haunt them as Manu Ma'u dropped an easy pass from Joseph Paulo and Titan, Greg Bird, when on to clean up the ball, pass to James Roberts who sprinted past Semi Radradra and score an easy try.

The resulting conversion from the sideline by Sezer would see him complete a perfect evening with the boot and give the Titans a couple of much needed competition points to jump off the bottom of the ladder.

The Eels and Titans, both suffering injuries to their first grade squad will find it hard to compete for the finals with just five rounds to play in the regular season.

The Parramatta squad head directly to Darwin for their Saturday match against the Panthers next week, whilst the Titans head to Melbourne to battle the Storm next Sunday afternoon.

Match Details

Gold Coast Titans 24 Parramatta Eels 14
Venue: Cbus Super Stadium
Crowd: 7496
Halftime Score: Gold Coast Titans 6 Parramatta Eels 10

GOLD COAST TITANS (24)
Tries: Kane Elgey, Nene Macdonald (2), James Roberts
Conversions: Aidan Sezer (4/4)

PARRAMATTA EELS (14)
Tries: Junior Paulo, Nathan Peats, Bureta Faraimo
Conversions: Reece Robinson (1/3)

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:

3 points - Aidan Sezer
2 points - Nene Macdonald
1 point - Bureta Faraimo

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary

Good evening and welcome to Cbus Super Stadium for this clash between the Gold Coast Titans and the Parramatta Eels.
Several changes to both teams, but the missing centre pairing from the Eels will surely hurt them in this game.
No Myles for the Titans which brings Dave Taylor into the line-up on the bench with Moseley. Pettybourne will start.

1: Kick-off here! The Titans get a soft penalty almost straight away, kick for the sideline and then get another penalty on the first tackle
Penalties 2-0 Gold Coast. 90 seconds gone.

2: PENALTY Titans. That's 3 penalties in less than 2 minutes. That's ridiculous.

2: The Titans lose it on the line with some strong defence and the Eels finally get the ball!

4: A soaring bomb from the Eels on the last sees the Titans lose it. Faraimo picked it up, but loses it as he's going for the line. Eels scrum feed though. Just 10 metres out.

5: Gower went diving over the line, but he's lost the ball trying to get it over the line! 20 metre restart for the Titans. Oh so close for the Eels!

6: VIDEO REF: A cross-field kick from the Titans has been missed by Radradra and the Titans have regathered. Elgey has dived on it and we're off to check for a try!

6: TRY GOLD COAST TITANS
Scored by Kane Elgey. Kick to come.
Scrappy try, but it's the first points here to the Titans after a clever little kick through from Greg Bird.

7: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION GOLD COAST TITANS
Conversion attempt by Aidan Sezer successful.
Slotted through well.

9: Great run from Mannah as the Eels make their way back to the Titan's 20 metre line.

10: Reece Robinson with a great run down the field, picking up 60 metres. Eels on the attack!

11: PENALTY Eels. The Titans offside on their line as Mannah went close to scoring. 6 more on their line now, the Eels.

12: TRY PARRAMATTA EELS
Scored by Junior Paulo. Kick to come.
The beast smashes through the Titans defence and there's the Eels first try! Elgey couldn't stop the big man!

13: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION PARRAMATTA EELS
Conversion attempt by Reece Robinson unsuccessful.
Misses to the left. Poor kick from Reece.

15: Excellent set of six from the Eels, forcing the Titans to work it out of their 10 metres after a nice Mead take in the corner.

16: Semi takes a Titans kick on the full and sprints down the field, passing off to Morgan for some great metres. Eels on 3rd tackle, just 10 metres out now!

16: UNFORCED ERROR PARRAMATTA EELS
Vai Toutai makes an unforced error.
Ball down on first touch. Ouch.

17: PENALTY Titans. The Titans get a reliever now and work it back into the Eels territory.

19: A positive kick from the Titans has seen the Eels forced in goal. First drop out of the night.

19: Mannah was lucky not to be pinged for a lifting tackle in that last set. He lifted the legs and then brought them back down again. No harm. No foul.

20: UNFORCED ERROR GOLD COAST TITANS
Ryan James makes an unforced error.
Terrible pass from Falloon sees James fumble it between his legs. Scrum to the Eels

21: Mannah now loses the ball in a solid tackle from White and Paasi. He's a bit winded there as well.

21: 55 metres and 15 tackles from the Eels' captain already tonight. Solid start for him. He's coming off now though. Lussick on.

22: UNFORCED ERROR GOLD COAST TITANS
Greg Bird makes an unforced error.
Forward pass from Bird to Hoffman, which would have put him through a hole.
Good quick call from the referee there.

23: PENALTY Eels. Yet another penalty in this game. Titans in the ruck.

23: De Gois ON. Junior Paulo OFF

24: UNFORCED ERROR PARRAMATTA EELS
Vai Toutai makes an unforced error.
Toutai tries to tap it on to his winger, but it goes over the sideline.
Titans' fans breathe a sigh of relief.

25: Great kick from Elgey! From inside his half he kicks it down to the Eels try line and Faraimo is trapped in goal from Faifai Loa. Drop out No.2 for the Eels!

27: UNFORCED ERROR GOLD COAST TITANS
Nene Macdonald makes an unforced error.
Nene can't hold onto the ball after a slick move down the left from the Titans. Scrum Eels.

27: PENALTY Eels. Offside from the Titans. The penalty-fest continues!

28: Alvaro ON. Not sure who's off...

28: PENALTY Eels. ANOTHER penalty. Titans lying on the player.
This is pretty crazy.

29: VIDEO REF: Peats looks to have dived straight over the line from dummy half! Can't see any issue there, but Perenara is checking obstruction...

29: TRY PARRAMATTA EELS
Scored by Nathan Peats. Kick to come.
A great hookers try from Peats! Boy, does he make a difference to this side!
The Eels take the lead and have a certain 2 points to come.

29: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION PARRAMATTA EELS
Conversion attempt by Reece Robinson successful.
From right in front..

32: Hoffman with a nice take after a solid Eels set. The Titans work it out of their half now.

32: PENALTY Eels. Yup. Another penalty.
Eels win the count 5-4 so far.

34: David Mead with brilliant take in goal after a threatening Eels kick. He snatched it in front of Semi Radradra to save the try!

34: Pauli Pauli ON. Moeroa OFF.

35: Exciting attack from the Titans as Birds kicks it through for Elgey, but Faraimo dives in to save the day! Excellent covering from the Eels' winger!

39: Just a minute to go in the first half. The Eels will get the last set from their 30 metre line..

40: That's half-time here at the Gold Coast! A tight, but slightly scrappy game that seemed to be heading for a high scoring encounter, but has settled down.
The Eels deserve their lead with more enterprising play and some solid running.

40: Some stats from the first half:

Possession - 58% - 42% Eels
Completions - 75% - 73% - Titans
Metres - 894 - 585 - Eels
Offloads - 5 - 1 - Eels
Tackles - 171 - 165 - Titans
Errors - 5 all
Penalties - 5 - 4 - Eels

40: Some personal stats:

Semi Radradra - 111 metres
Nene Macdonald - 76 metres

Peats - 23 tackles
James - 23 tackles

40: The second half is underway here! Who can come out on top in this game?
Could it be season over for the loser? 40 minutes to find out who stays alive!

42: Solid set of six from the Eels ends in a kick to the left wing. Semi can't quite tap it back and the Titans are back with the ball...

43: PENALTY Titans. First one of the half. Eels lying in the ruck.

44: TRY GOLD COAST TITANS
Scored by Nene Macdonald. Kick to come.
An easy one for the Titans. Sezer grubbers through to his centre, Macdonald who timed his run well, picks it up and scores. Danger signs on the right side from the Eels there.

45: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION GOLD COAST TITANS
Conversion attempt by Aidan Sezer successful.
Kicks it easily from just left of the uprights. Titans back in the lead by 2.

48: PENALTY Eels. Needed that one. Eels attacking now inside the Titans half...

49: A grubber from Kelly is too strong and the Titans get a 20 metre re-start. Too much weet-bix from the Eels' half.

51: At the other end, the Titans manage to keep the Eels in goal and force their 3rd drop out of the night. A clear difference in kicking games here.

52: VIDEO REF: A possible try to Macdonald here. Lots of Eels arms around the ball though. Looks unlikely.

52: Perenara has called it a try, but we're going to have a few looks as we can't see that the ball has touched the ground.

52: TRY GOLD COAST TITANS
Scored by Nene Macdonald. Kick to come.
That's a dubious one. The touch judge has recommended a try and it's been given. Macdonald gets his second for the night.

52: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION GOLD COAST TITANS
Conversion attempt by Aidan Sezer successful.
Sezer brings it back for a nice conversion.

53: Titans with some space on the right and have made some big metres in this set, but it ends with a grubber, cleaned up by the Eels.

55: UNFORCED ERROR PARRAMATTA EELS
Darcy Lussick makes an unforced error.
Lussick ruled to have lost the ball in the tackle. Titans will get scrum feed just 45 out from Eels' line.

56: VIDEO REF: An attacking kick from Sezer to the right wing sees Mead touching the ball and Semi tackling him at the same time. The video ref will be checking if it's a tackle without the ball.

56: NO TRY, but it's a penalty against the Eels for tackling without the ball.
That is a shocking decision. Perenara trying to explain something that doesn't make sense.

58: Junior Paulo continues to run at Kane Elgey. He'll be sore tomorrow!

59: Finally, a good completed set from the Eels. Kelly gets it in goal and forces an drop out from the Titans. Their first for the night, I believe.

60: PENALTY Eels. Sezer ruled to have stripped it from Morgan. 10 metres out here for the Eels.

62: The Eels throw a few tackles at the Titans' line but make no inroads. Their last tackle option is a chip, which is cleaned up easily.

62: PENALTY Titans. Lussick ruled to have gone high on Bird.

63: Solid tackle from the Eels as they push Maconald into touch. They get the scrum feed from their own 30 metres. They need something, soon, to have any chance in this game.

66: PENALTY Titans. Peats finishes off the set with a nifty kick from dummy half, but the Eels have been penalised for a high shot on the run back from Kelly.

66: Sezer was down and winded, but is back up and about now.
Titans on the attack.

67: Big kick from Kelly to complete the Eels set. Not quite a 40/20, but a 50/10 instead.

68: MISTAKE Titans. The Eels get it back deep inside Titans' territory!

69: TRY PARRAMATTA EELS
Scored by Bureta Faraimo. Kick to come.
The Eels pull one back! Faraimo, a late replacement, has beaten about 5 Titans on his way to the slipping over the line. Fantastic run!

70: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION PARRAMATTA EELS
Conversion attempt by Reece Robinson unsuccessful.
Reece misses to the left. A badly guided kick. 4 point game.

71: Six more for the Eels as they work it out of their 20 metres. They'll need Robinson to start kicking them if they want to win this game!

72: UNFORCED ERROR PARRAMATTA EELS
Manu Ma'u makes an unforced error.
Can't hold the pass...and the Titans....

72: TRY GOLD COAST TITANS
Scored by James Roberts. Kick to come.
..from the dropped ball from Ma'u, Bird picks it up, gives it to Roberts, who beats a number of grasping Eels to dive over in the corner.

72: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION GOLD COAST TITANS
Conversion attempt by Aidan Sezer successful.
Sezer is kicking beautifully in contrast to Robinson. Nails it from the right touch line.

74: The Eels attempt a short kick-off, but Radradra is ruled to have knocked it on in attempting to jump at it. Titans scrum feed.

75: Titans attempt a kick in goal, but it hits the Eels and knocked on by the Titans. Eels get the feed.

77: UNFORCED ERROR PARRAMATTA EELS
Ryan Morgan makes an unforced error.
A pass from Morgan to Junior is ruled forward..somehow. That could be game over for the Eels.

78: The Titans force another drop out with a smart kick from Sezer again. Great game tonight.

79: Short drop out attempted by the Eels, but they just manage to knock it on.
The siren can't come quick enough for Eels' fans.

79: The Eels clean up another grubber in goal and that's the game. Titans get away with this one!

80: Game over here at the Gold Coast. The Titans claw their way off the bottom of the ladder and probably end the Eels season. A win epitomised by a great performance from Sezer.

80: Thanks for joining us for League Unlimited's coverage of the game. Match report to come soon. Good night!